Best bets for April 29-May 5

Thursday

Apr 28, 2011 at 2:00 AMApr 28, 2011 at 8:28 AM

It's time for the annual three-day celebration of daffodils and spring with the 25th annual Brewster in Bloom festival.

CAPE COD TIMES

This week's featured event: 25th annual Brewster in Bloom
It's time for the annual three-day celebration of daffodils and spring with the 25th annual Brewster in Bloom festival. The event kicks off with the Swing Into Spring dance from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday in the Pavilion at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club, 2907 Main St. Freddie and the Maybellines and the Nauset Regional High School Jazz Band will provide music, and there will be appetizers and a cash bar; $25 per person.
Other highlights include an “Antiques & Collectibles Fair” hosted by the Brewster Historical Society at the Drummer Boy Park from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
DJs from WOMR/WFMR will be at the park Saturday and there will be a KDO Media Productions Music Festival on Sunday. There are also two separate Kid Fests hosted by the Brewster Recreation Department and The Laurel School on Saturday.
The Kid Fest at The Laurel School is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes arts and crafts, face-painting and Trevor the Juggler at 11 a.m. and magic by Scott Jameson at 1 p.m. The Kid Fest at Drummer Boy Park is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a kite-making workshop and sports equipment swap. The Nauset Youth Alliance will also offer carnival-style games, arts and science activity tables and a live DJ at the same location from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
One of the most popular draws of Brewster in Bloom is the two-day juried Fine Arts and Crafts Show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Cape Cod Sea Camps. The Brewster in Bloom Parade will be at 1 p.m. Sunday. Area merchants are also offering tastings, demonstrations, raffles, free samples and live music.
If you go: What: Brewster in Bloom. When: Friday through Sunday. Where: various locations. Information: www.brewster-capecod.com.
Friday, April 29
· It's estimated that more than 2 billion people will tune in to watch Kate Middleton and Prince William get married, and if you're one of them, be sure to extend the celebration by heading down to your nearest British Beer Company location in Hyannis, Falmouth or Sandwich from noon to 6:30 p.m. for a day of revelry for the royal wedding. Coverage of the wedding will be shown all day, and a live bagpiper will perform. From 4 to 6 p.m. a light English banquet will be served with a complimentary carving station with roast beef, mini-pasties, bangers and Yorkshire pudding. The feast will be created by BBC chef James Gibney, of Essex, England, who studied at Windsor Castle with the Royal Household Brigade of Chefs. There will also be traditional British-style lunch and dinner specials Friday and Saturday. Each BBC location will serve a tiered wedding cake and attendees will be asked to sign a guest book that will be sent to the Queen of England. At 6 p.m. married couples will be invited to renew their vows followed by a toast, so they can experience their own royal romance. Information: www.britishbeer.com.

Saturday, April 30
· Join thousands of tai chi and qigong practitioners around the world to celebrate International Tai Chi and Qigong Day from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Brooks Park, Route 39 and Oak Street, Harwich. The event will begin in the first time zone of New Zealand and end in the last one in Hawaii with the official hour in our time zone set for 10 a.m. For newcomers, the day will start with beginner's level qigong at 9:30 a.m. Both tai chi and qigong are mind/body/spirit exercises that promote the flow of qi, or life energy, through the body. They both are concerned with releasing stress. In case of rain, the event will take place at the Harwich Community Center, 100 Oak St. Information: www.worldtaichiday.org.
Sunday, May 1
· With water all around us, it's sometimes easy to overlook the Cape's beautiful rivers, but the Marstons Mills Village Association celebrates its river from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Burgess Park on Route 149 with River Day, a full day of watery activities for the whole family to enjoy. Licensed fishermen 16 years and older can register for the “Catch and Release Fishing Derby” hosted by the Cape Cod Salties from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Adults and children 7 and older can kayak on Hamblin Pond all day, courtesy of Eastern Mountain Sports of Hyannis, and members of Trout Unlimited will present fly-casting and fly-tying demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be presentations under the tent about local initiatives to preserve Marstons Mills River, and field presentations of the Marstons Mills River Watershed, including a herring run update, exploring pond life and a walking tour of Turtle Island. Barnstable's Natural Resource Department will offer six boat tours of Prince Cove throughout the day, and children can have fun with water education activities that include “Flush the Kids,” “Toxic Mess,” “Bubble Booth” and the “Green Ribbon Puppet Show.” All activities except the picnic lunch and cookout are free. Information: 508-428-1956 or www.marstonsmills.org.
· Get ready for a monthlong celebration of the Cape's rich history with the sea with the 18th annual Cape Maritime Days celebration. The activities will kick off with the popular “Kayak the Waterways of the Lower Cape” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The River on Pleasant Bay with local science teacher and kayak guide Dick Hilmer, who will also lead other natural history kayak tours during the month. Instruction and equipment are provided, but reservations are required by calling 508-240-1211 or emailing dhilmer@explorecapecod.com. Admission: $30. Stop by the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, 135 South St., Hyannis, to view the “Making Waves: Maritime Ventures on Cape Cod” exhibit with artifacts from nearly 400 years of maritime ventures. For hours and details call 508-775-1723 or visit www.capecodmaritimemuseum.org. In Provincetown two art exhibits celebrate the sea. At Maison Décor & Gallery, 638B Commercial St., there is a maritime art exhibition with paintings, drawings and photographs of Outer Cape marine life by local artists, including William Evaul, Nancy Ellen Craig, Eileen Counihan, Camille Ives and Kina Beril. Gallery hours and more information: 508-487-0444. Maritime painter Adam Peck will also have a “Sea Things” exhibit of paintings, sculptures and prints at the Adam Peck Gallery, 137 Commercial St. Gallery hours and more information: 508-272-8298 or www.adampeckgallery.com. These are only a few activities of a celebration that culminates with the first Line Fishing Derby May 29 through June 4. For a full list of events, visit www.ecapechamber.com/MaritimeDays.
· It's May Day, and Big Collage Art Collective wants to shake the dust off this fun holiday and bring it back to prominence with an evening of music, visual art, video and great food. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with a traditional outdoor maypole dance across the street from the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth. Afterward everyone is invited over to the cultural center for a showcase of paintings and mixed media by Tim Graham and Matt Kenely and paintings by Gary Peters. There will also be musical performances by Lydia Parkington, Warm Brownies and Polka Dan's Beetbox Band. There will be art and music for sale and, for $1 a ticket, you can enter an art drawing. Big Collage Art Collective is a group of artists and musicians that hosts quarterly events that combine several different artistic mediums and celebrate the artistic spirit. Admission: $10 general admission, $7 for cultural center members, $5 for students. Information: www.bigcollage.org.
Tuesday, May 3
· An artist's decision on how to place a figure in a landscape and the clues this placement gives the viewer about the figure are the subjects of a new exhibit “Lone Figure and the Landscape,” which will be on display through June 12 at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, 4677 Falmouth Road, Cotuit. The exhibit will also examine whether the figure is vital to the landscape and whether its engagement in the landscape adds to the viewers' understanding of the art. At 11 a.m. May 10, exhibition curator Richard Waterhouse will talk about the purpose of the exhibit and why he chose certain works, and at 11 a.m. May 24 artists Heather Blume, Jon Friedman and Susan McLean will discuss the importance of the figure and the landscape in their works. Other artists in the exhibition include Vincent Amicosante, Joan Augustino, Sean Boyce, John Cosby, Jennifer Downey, Kimberly Anne DuCharme, Jason Eldredge, Kim English, Taylor Fox, Debra Fritt, Carole Chisolm Garvey, Jerome Greene, Charles Gruppe, Jim Holland, Joni Johnston, William J. Maloney, Joseph McGurl, Charles Munro, Jan Munro, Rosalie Nadeau, Joseph Paquet, Robert Roark, Doug Rugh, Paul Schulenburg and William Schneider. The talks are included in the price of admission to the museum. Admission: $6 general, $5 seniors, $4 students, free for members and children 12 and under. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Information: 508-428-7581 or www.cahoonmuseum.org.
COMPILED BY LAURIE HIGGINS